LAND HO!! RADAR SIGHTING!!! It was 5:45am this morning and I was on watch, the 30 min alarm went off letting me know that I had to disturb the book I was reading at a very suspenseful part and have a look at the radar and a general look around, that's when I saw it - 12.1 miles off. It's been my watch since 4am.Greg's fast asleep and I don't wont to wake him, he'll have some sort of ESP soon and get up.

Manihi Atoll is the northernmost point of the Tuomotos and has a little tiny airstrip, a black pearl farm, a resort, Hotel Mahini, with villas over the water, a dispensary and a shop and church. That's about all.

Skippers up, he just put out the fishing line hoping to catch a fish before we go in. We've still only caught two fish since leaving Mexico, incredible when we see all the fish in the markets and the giant Tuna for sale. None of the other boats have caught fish either. Oh! I lie, one Dutch couple catches one nearly every time they put a line out and they use exactly the same lure as us, a purple squid. STRANGE!!

We had visual sighting of the atoll at about 6 miles off just as we were starting our Tea and Toast in the cockpit. The atoll appeared as a green smudge on the horizon as apposed to Fatu Hiva, The Marquesas, which jumped up out of the sea to greet us when we were still 30 miles away with huge souring mountains shrouded in clouds.

Extreme care must be taken when entering these atolls, as the current rushes out of the them at an amazing rate. Depending on the sea conditions, sometimes currents of about 8 knots can be reached. We must enter at slack water, at this time the reefs and shoals are clearly visible and if you hit one the rising tide you can float off. There is slack water 5 hours after moonset. We'll be going in about 13:30 today. Greg has made ratlines up the shrouds to the 1st spreaders, so he'll be up there with the hand held VHF radio, looking for the passage and watching out for coral heads and I'll be on the wheel steering us through.

Talerra" and "Trius", the other two yachts, are about 25 miles behind us, hopefully, they'll make it in today, we all hope so because you really only get one chance of it a day. At least there are two sandy spits one on either side of the entrance where you can anchor (if conditions are good) and wait to make the dash in.

We're in and anchored safe and sound in about 11 metres of beautiful clear water on the little motu (islet) after the little village. Bit hairy coming in as I was up the bow on watch, (Skipper decided to steer in the end and I would be watch, except at the last minute the 1st ratlin was too high for me). Skipper didn't trust 1st mate to steer as the current was running about 6 knots against us. So Greg just gunned it and kept going. It looked clear to me but shallower after we entered the lagoon, I could see coral heads but Greg said his heart was in his mouth at one stage as the depth sounder read .1 metre under the keel. I never thought it looked that shallow but when water is so clear depth is deceptive.